Want to get rid of procrastination? Me too! All of the “gurus” will tell you that you need to come up with a list and work on it. While there’s some truth it, do they really think that’s the best place to start when, in the last post, we admitted that we procrastinate? Oh heck no!
What can we do instead? If you watched my video about anxiety, you’ll know that I’m BIG on one of the key concepts in it: “name it.” You need to first figure out what type of procrastinator you are BEFORE making any bold moves.
You figure it out and you name. That’s the first step. Simple, right? Absolutely! Why complicate it?
The reason we’re starting with this step is because often times, we merely label ourselves as a procrastinator without having an understanding of the activities we do instead of completing the task at hand. As soon as you open your eyes to the type of procrastination you engage in, you won’t be able to stop noticing it and will hopefully focus on the task.
There’s more to moving from procrastination to taking action, which we’ll dive into in the free training video, but this is an awesome place to start. So let’s get started!
Types of Procrastinators
The Calendar Lover:
They love their calendar so much, that they book so many appointments into it. This calendar may even look beautiful because it might be colour coded by the type of appointment that’s been scheduled. However, it’s so packed that when it is time to start working on those projects, it is far too overwhelming to make any headway. Even if some progress is made, the calendar is so tightly packed that there’s no wiggle room for projects to go over the allotted time slot. The piles upon piles of work is enough to exhaust anyone looking at the schedule, let along actually trying to accomplish anything. So this type of procrastinator, instead of going back to the drawing board and reworking it, will struggle to meet any or all of the deadlines.
The Pretend Focuser:
This one resonates really well with me, because this describes me so well. This type of procrastinator creates a plan, looks at it and then, instead of working on the most difficult or the largest tasks first to get it out of the way, they actively avoid it and work on the smallest tasks first. Closer to the deadline, they’ll rush to complete those big tasks, will vow never to leave it to the last minute again because they feel so much anxiety but they’ll do it again anyway. For some people, this is an easier way of getting started, for others who feel a sense of uncertainty or lack of confidence, they take this route so they feel some ounce of accomplishment. Whatever the feeling, we actively avoid it and get started with the easiest tasks to feel good about ourselves.
The Scenic Router:
This type of procrastinator knows that there’s a deadline but also recognizes that there’s more to life than that one assignment, so they’ll do everything else but work on it until the last possible minute. For example, they might decide to watch a new movie, then choose something to eat for dinner, wash the dishes and so forth. Often times, the Scenic Router will even do things they don’t enjoy just to avoid working on the assignment. This can occur for a variety of reasons, such as not being interested in the topic or having a fear of a failure that’s often disguised as being a perfectionist.
The Couldn’t Care Lesser:
This person knows that there’s a project to be completed but actively chooses NOT to do it. It may not be interesting to them or they may believe that the assignment is too big for them, so they don’t complete it, or submit a quick version of it in on the day that it’s due.
Final Thoughts
Now that we know about the different types of procrastinators and hopefully you’ve identified the one that best describes you, take action by first recognizing it when it arises, and gaining momentum.
What do I mean? If you have something that is almost due or a dream that you wish you had started but you keep putting it on the back burner then let’s move past procrastination together.
In this video you’ll learn how to move past the limiting beliefs that are holding you back, create a quick progress plan, and dive right into your task. If you’re a parent of teacher, show these videos to your children before a deadline and work on it with them.
Ready to get started? Then click on the image below.
If goal planning is already your jam, then grab your FREE planning journal and enjoy dreaming big and gaining momentum.
While the above roadmap is a great starting point for goal-setting, the following, which is a more comprehensive guide, will go into more depth and will focus on my 6 step goal-setting plan for success.
Your intermediate or middle school aged children can also join in on the fun.
Thank you so much for joining me. I would love to hear about your progress in the comments below.
Take care,
Charlotte
